A tale of two tariffs

By: Bob Ulrich

One was imposed on consumer tire imports from China. The other soon may be imposed on passenger tires imported from Thailand. Not surprisingly, the United Steelworkers union supports both.

The topic is, of course, tariffs. They affect everyone in the tire distribution chain, but no one more than the end user, who ultimately pays the price — literally — for added costs incurred by tire manufacturers.

Last year, President Barack Obama increased the tariff on passenger and light truck tires imported from China from 4% to 39%. In September, it will be reduced to 34%, and in September 2011, it will drop to 29%.

The president can revisit the decision, which he based on a recommendation from the United States Trade Representative, on his own this month. However, given that Chinese tire imports represent less than 1% of all domestic Chinese import dollars, he has no reason to change his mind at this point.

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